Rogge wages war on drugs cheats

IOC president Jacques Rogge has vowed that a record number of doping tests will be carried out at the Beijing Olympics in an effort to fight the war he admits will never be won.

Rogge’s body today confirmed the expulsion of two more medallists as the number of drug-related cases grew to 24, more than double the Sydney total.

Colombian cyclist Maria Luisa Calle-Williams, who picked up a bronze in the women’s points race, has tested positive for prohibited stimulant heptaminol, while Hungarian gold-medal winning hammer thrower Adrian Annus has been kicked out after refusing to submit to a routine test in the wake of his victory last Sunday.

It has subsequently been discovered that two samples which Annus did provide during the Games period were from two different people, leading the IOC to launch an immediate investigation into his conduct.

Annus, who claims he is being victimised, became the third track and field champion to be thrown out – the highest number at a single Olympics in history - following the earlier disqualifications of Russian shot-putter Irina Korzhanenko and Annus’ team-mate, discus thrower Robert Fazekas.

And that might not be the end of it either, as new positive findings are likely to be unearthed in the early part of next week, given that the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic testing period was not due to end until today.

However, rather than be downhearted by the statistics, Rogge believes they should be viewed as a signal that the authorities are getting on top of the problem.

The IOC will have carried out 3,000 tests in Athens, more than ever before.

And even though Rogge accepts there will always be some who try to cheat the system, he will ensure there is no slackening off in the battle to catch as many as possible.

“My dream is that we can continue the fight against doping, test as much as we possibly can across all sports and never have one positive test,” said the Belgian doctor, who has been president of the IOC since July 2001.

“I know this is a naive view and it will never be fulfilled because we have 10,500 athletes here, not 10,500 saints.

“We will always have cheats in the Olympic Village because it is part of the human condition.

“But we will continue our efforts. We have vastly increased the number of tests here and I intend to increase them still further by the time we get to Beijing.”

At a time when the IOC is beginning a review of the 28 sports currently on the Olympic roster, which Rogge admits will be tinkered with in time for the 2012 Games, basketball, baseball and ice-hockey have been placed on warning that in future, athletes who take part in those sports must have been subjected to stringent out-of-competition testing prior to the Olympics.

This is seen as a shot across the bows of the major American sporting organisations, whose policies on drugs are patchy to say the least.

The attitude contrasts sharply with Rogge’s opinion of weightlifting, which has again topped the drug ‘crime-count’.

After being handed the equivalent of a yellow card by the IOC in Sydney following a succession of positive tests, culminating in the expulsion of the entire Bulgarian team for their systematic doping programme, Rogge is refusing to pull out the red.

“What is important in doping is the attitude of the international federation in trying to stamp out out,” he said.

“The International Weightlifting Federation is at the forefront of the fight against doping.

“It spends 35% of its entire budget on it, money that could be spent promoting the sport.

“Don’t forget they are the only sport that has tested every single competitor in these Olympics.

“We know they have a very big problem but we will help them try to find a way of winning the fight.”